1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tray handling apparatus and a semiconductor device inspecting method using the same, and more particularly, to a tray handling apparatus wherein a transfer device, used to convey a tray from one conveyer to another conveyor, is integrally provided with a tray inverting unit used to turn the tray upside down, whereby the conveyance and inversion of the tray can be performed simultaneously and consequently, a rapid inspecting operation and a simplified configuration can be accomplished, and a semiconductor device inspecting method using the tray handling apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An object, such as completely manufactured semiconductor devices or wafer pieces cut in the course of manufacture, is put into a tray, for an inspection, test, or other subsequent processes thereof. A handler, to handle the tray, has to transfer and invert the tray in which the object is received, and therefore, have a need for a transfer device and an inverting device.
Hereinafter, an operation for inspecting and sorting semiconductor devices using a handler will be described.
A semiconductor device, which is manufactured via a series of processes, essentially has to go through several precise inspections prior to shipping. Examples of these precise inspections include an external-appearance inspection using a vision-camera as well as an electric-operation inspection since even minute external-appearance defects of semiconductor devices as well as internal defects of a semiconductor device package have a serious effect on the performance of semiconductor devices.
Generally, external-appearance defects of semiconductor devices, and more particularly, defects of a ball grid array (BGA) and lead may occur in the course of assembling semiconductor devices with a printed circuit board (PCB), etc. Therefore, it can be said that an inspection of the lead or ball is very important.
A conventional technology, related to an inspection for external-appearance defects of semiconductor devices and to a rapid sorting of the semiconductor devices based on the inspection results, is disclosed in Korean registered Utility Model Publication No. 20-0339601.
However, the conventional technology, disclosed in the above Korean registered Utility Model Publication No. 20-0339601, is usable only to inspect defects of leads or balls located at a rear surface of a semiconductor device, and cannot inspect a marking recorded on an upper surface of the semiconductor device and the overall external-appearance of the semiconductor device. Therefore, to inspect the marking and the overall external-appearance of the semiconductor device, there is an inconvenience in that additional other inspections should be performed using various inspecting apparatuses.
Another conventional technology to solve the above described problems is disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2006-0087850, which was filed by the applicant of the present invention and entitled “Semiconductor Device Inspecting Apparatus”.
The disclosed conventional semiconductor device inspecting apparatus, as shown in FIG. 11, comprises: a body 100; a loading device 210 to load, thereon, a tray, in which semiconductor devices to be inspected are received; an inspecting device 300 to inspect the semiconductor devices; a buffer 220 to temporarily store a buffer tray, in which completely-inspected semiconductor devices are received; a first rejecting device 230, a second rejecting device 240, and a third rejecting device 250, which are used to load different trays thereon, respectively, the loaded trays receiving defective semiconductor devices sorted according to the kind of defects on the basis of inspection results; and an unloading device 260 to unload a tray, in which normal semiconductor devices sorted on the basis of the inspection results are received. The inspecting apparatus further comprises: a plurality of tray conveyers 480 connected, respectively, to the loading device 210, buffer 220, first to third rejecting devices 230, 240, and 250, and unloading device 260, the tray conveyors 480 allowing the tray to move in a forward and rearward direction of the body 100; a transfer device 500 installed above the body 100 to reciprocally move in a horizontal direction, the transfer device 500 allowing the tray to move between the tray conveyors 480 of the loading device 210, buffer 220, first to third rejecting devices 230, 240, and 250, and unloading device 260; and a sorting device 600 installed to reciprocally move between the tray conveyers 480 of the buffer 220, first to third rejecting devices 230, 240, and 250, and unloading device 260, the sorting device 600 being used to pick up defective semiconductor devices, received in the tray being transferred onto the unloading device 260, so as to convey the defective semiconductor devices to any one of the first to third rejecting devices 230, 240, and 250 on the basis of the kind of defects and also, being used to pick up normal semiconductor devices received in the buffer tray so as to fill normal products in an empty blank of the unloading device 260 remained after discharging the defective semiconductor devices.
Specifically, the inspecting device 300 includes first and second vision-cameras 310 and 320 to perform a vision inspection. The first vision-camera 310 is used to inspect one surface of the semiconductor devices received in the tray loaded on the loading device 210, and the second vision-camera 310 is used to inspect the other surface of the semiconductor devices. To allow both the surfaces of the semiconductor devices to be sequentially inspected by use of the first and second vision cameras 310 and 320, the conventional inspecting apparatus further comprises an inverting device 700 to turn the tray, in which the semiconductor devices are received, upside down.
In FIG. 11, reference numeral 420 represents an empty tray, reference numeral 410 represents a loading stacker, reference numeral 470 represents a feeder on which the empty tray is disposed, reference numerals 430, 440, 450, and 460 represent feeders to be put on the first, second, and third rejecting devices 230, 240, and 250 and the unloading device 260, and reference numeral 610 represents a sorter to sort the semiconductor devices.
With the above described configuration, if the semiconductor devices, which were supplied by the loading device 210 and received in the tray, are transferred by the tray conveyors 480, one surface of the semiconductor devices is inspected by the first vision-camera 310. The semiconductor devices, having the completely inspected one surface, are turned upside down by the inverting device 700.
Here, the inverting device 700 should have an empty tray, to allow the semiconductor devices to be again received in the tray while showing the other surface thereof by being turned upside down within the tray.
The inverted tray is conveyed to the tray conveyor within an inspection region of the second vision-camera 320 by the transfer device 500 used to reciprocally convey the tray between the tray conveyors. Thereby, semiconductor devices received in the conveyed tray after being inverted are inspected by the second vision-camera 320.
In the conventional semiconductor device inspecting apparatus, as described above, the inverting device 700 should be provided between the first vision-camera 310 and the second vision-camera 320, in order to turn the tray, in which the semiconductor devices, having one surface inspected by the first vision-camera 310, are received, upside down. Also, the transfer device 500 should be provided to convey the inverted tray to an inspection region of the second vision-camera 320.
Due to the fact that the inverting device 700 and the transfer device 500 to invert and convey the tray are provided separately from each other, the conventional inspecting apparatus has a complicated configuration. Further, since the tray is transferred reciprocally after being completely inverted, the inversion and conveyance of the tray cannot be performed simultaneously. This makes it impossible for the inspecting apparatus to perform an inspection at a high speed.
When the tray is supplied from the loading device at a high speed, an inspection speed does not follow the tray supply speed. This causes the tray loading and sorting devices to be left in a ready state, resulting in a deterioration in inspection and sorting efficiencies.